Bonds
by Sully-van
Summary: Because sometimes you have things that you must protect, no matter the cost. And those precious bonds that you make are one of those things. Fem!Tsuna.
1. Prologue

**Bonds.**

**Summary:** Because sometimes you have things that you need to protect, no matter the cost.

**Warnings**: Female!Tsuna – her name is Natsumi. Future pairings have been decided, but will not come until later.

* * *

**Prologue: Beginnings.**

* * *

Feet moved quickly and quietly against the marble floor, the pair moving as stealthy as they could.

"Iemitsu, are you sure that this will work?" Nana Sawada asked, cradling a child that was covered by a blanket in her arms.

Her husband, muscular and blond, nodded, a rueful expression on his tanned face. "I'm positive. We're in the clear. The 9th has made sure of that."

Nana nodded and continued to hurry as quietly as she could. The two made it to the ground floor without waking anyone in the large mansion, not even the guards, who were slumped over against the walls.

"Paralysis…" Iemistu muttered to himself, grateful that the guardians and his most trusted men were patrolling, in case of an attack. He looked up and saw lights coming in the distance, beyond the windows, just as they planned. "Nana… This is it."

"I know." His wife said, tightening her grip on their child. Her back was erect. She had been waiting for this day for months, and here it finally was.

"I love you. I… I'll try and find a way to see you again… I might take a while." Iemitsu raised a hand, placing it on his wife's cheek. Nana leaned into his hand and said, "I can wait. I love you, too."

Iemistu kissed his wife one last time on the lips as her car drove up. He looked down at his child – his baby, his little girl – and frowned.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get to know her more… I… Tell her about me?" The 9ths Rain Guardian, Schnitten Brabanters, had now pulled to a stop in front of the young couple. They made no haste, the young parents rushing out of the mansion. Schnitten had already popped the trunk, making it so Iemistu could throw the few and small bags of luggage inside. Nana had opened the back doors of the car so she could strap her daughter into the car seat that the 9ths guardians had not forgotten to install.

The trunk closed with a small bang, as did the back door.

Nana sent her husband – the love of her life – a fleeting look, grasping for the passenger door handle blindly. "I will, I promise." She opened the door and climbed in. She did not want to look away for what might have been the last time.

But she had too, because that was life and you couldn't always get what you want.

She closed the door behind her and bit her lip, trying to hold back tears, as the sleek, black car automatically zoomed away, leaving Iemistu behind.

She buckled herself up and looked at Schnitten. The older man, whose dark hair was slicked back as always and was wearing his usual tan blazer, was looking at the road, with a blank expression on his face, but Nana could see the flash of determination in his eyes with the reflected light from the streetlamps.

"I'll get you and the little miss out of here safely, Nana." The Rain Guardian said as the zoomed onto the Italian highway, which was more or less void of other cars.

The 20 year old hummed lowly in response, not wanting to speak; knowing what would happen if she did.

She would burst out in tears. But she couldn't, not now. Right now, she had to be strong.

Strong. For Iemitsu, for herself, and for their child, who was only 3 months old. She could not break down now.

If it meant saving that baby, who was sleeping in the back-seat, clueless to what was currently going on around her, then so be it.

"You know, Nana," Schnitten said, keeping his eyes on the road. "Since I've met you, I've been fond of you. You have a lot more courage than any of the other women, it seems. When the boss told your current situation, I was more than willing to help." He paused for a few seconds. "You are strong, I will not deny that. However, even the strongest of people need to cry. It is not good to keep it in."

Nana looked up at the older man, her brown eyes wide. Her shoulders were starting to shake and her breath was started to come out into small pants. She really didn't want to cry, she didn't...But Schnitten was correct.

She reached over to undo the pony-tail that her hair had been in, letting her long brown hair hit her shoulders and her face, creating a veil and she began to cry, her shoulders rattling.

Quiet sobs filled the car as Schnitten got closer and closer to the airport that would take Nana and her daughter away from their home of Italy and to the land of Japan.

* * *

Nana and Natsumi had settled in a small, peaceful town in Japan called Namimori.

It was quite the change for Nana, who had been used to her home in Italy. In fact, she had never really gone anywhere, except for the rare vacation with her maman and papa.

But it was a nice change. Growing up in a mafia family was never peaceful or anything of the sort.

When she moved in, her neighbor's – a sweet old couple who were probably older than the ninth – had greeted her with a housewarming gift –a cake – and they didn't say much about how Nana was alone with her daughter, just saying that they had a grandson maybe a few years older than Natsumi, with another grandchild on the way and maybe they could be friends.

It was a nice change, but it took adjusting too. It was definitely nothing like the fast-paced, tension-filled lifestyle that Nana had once had as a Mafioso. (Even when she had been pregnant and hidden away from most people in the Vongola, it was still as drama-filled as before.)

But this was for her baby, her little Natsumi, who couldn't grow up like both she and Iemitsu had. She would never put her daughter through that, and her husband more than agreed.

With time, she truly began to love this new lifestyle of being a mother who cooked and cleaned and watched over her child, something that she never, ever got to experience before.

Her flame inside her burned with determination, this was just like a mission, but more long-term and much more important than any of those missions that seemed trivial in comparison.

* * *

**Authors Note**: Hello and welcome to '_Bonds_'. This is first in the 'Bonds' series (one out of a possible three) and it will be a novel-length story. The proper name is "**BONDS: SKY AND SUN**".

It is, admittedly, a work in progress, but that does not mean that I do not know what I'm doing – if that is any reassurance.

Updates will range from a week to a month, depending on how much homework I have.

Mmm.


	2. Chapter 1

**Bonds.**

******Summary:** Because sometimes you have things that you need to protect, no matter the cost.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Four.**

* * *

**1.**

_**N**_ana Sawada tied her hair into a ball on the top of her head, as she continued to cook with a different kind of energy that she hadn't had in years. Four years, to be exact.

This December, it would've been four years since Nana had left Italy with her daughter in tow. To be honest, the twenty-four year old didn't miss Italy or her old life much at all. This peaceful life was very relaxing for her.

However, she hadn't seen Iemitsu in four years. He sent a letter every month, with the necessary funds, even a few words from the ninth every now and then. Nana was very much grateful for the letters over the years, but it was nothing like having the real thing with her.

So when she got the letter a few days ago telling her that her husband was finally coming home for their daughter's birthday, she seemed to become a different person.

Natsumi had never seen her mama like this. It was weird, seeing her usually cheerful mother even more bouncy than usual, but the soon-to-be four year old just seemed to shrug it off.

Nana had yet to tell her daughter that her father was going to be coming home for the first time. She didn't know how to tell Natsumi, who didn't even remember meeting Iemitsu; she only knew the stories that Nana told her at bedtime, like Iemitsu had wanted her too.

"Mama?" a quiet voice said behind her, making her put down the knife that she was going to cut lettuce with. Behind her was Natsumi, who was almost as tall as one of her knees. Her daughter looked more like her than she did Iemitsu, with short brown hair that was a bit darker than Nana's and much thicker that stood up in different directions in some areas. She had Nana's eyes and Iemitsu's nose.

Nana had never loved another person so much before, not even Iemistu.

Smiling to herself, Nana said "Good morning Natsu-chan!" She got a plate from the cupboard, the sound of a chair scraping against the tile floor. She put an egg, some rice, and other small foods onto the plate, before turning around once more to see Natsumi struggling to get onto a chair, instead of the high-chair that a few seats away.

Nana placed the plate of food onto the high-chair and picked Natsumi up from the back, cuddling her daughter close to her. "Mornin'..." Natsumi said leaning against her mother, before she was put into the high-chair to eat.

As her child began to eat, Nana went back to the stove too cook some more, having eaten earlier and knowing that Iemitsu had a large appetite, in case he came back today. She contemplated on telling Natsumi about him, but she decided against it.

And then the doorbell went off.

Natsumi's eyes followed her mother as she left the room.

"Coming!" She heard her mother call and she started playing with her food. She knew that someone was here whenever that bell-thingy went off – she wondered how it did that. (Natsumi hoped that it was Mrs. Sasagawa. The old woman was really nice, like her mama. She gave Natsumi candies sometimes, and she would bring Kyoko with her and Natsumi liked Kyoko.)

Natsumi faintly heard her mama squeal, she heard a deeper voice and the voice didn't sound like Mr. Sasagawa.

Putting some more food into her mouth, Natsumi waited a few minutes, when Nana came back into the kitchen, with a big smile on her face and a man behind her. He was taller than her mama, and his hair was lighter than hers and her mama's. He wore a large smile. This man seemed oddly familiar to Natsumi.

"Natsu-chan," Nana said, picking Natsumi up out of her high-chair and they walked toward the man, whose eyes were crinkled up oddly, like he was going to cry. "I've got to introduce to you someone."

Iemitsu Sawada swallowed the lump in his throat. "Hi Natsumi, I'm your papa."

**2.**

_**L**_ater that night, after Nana had put Natsumi to bed, the two parents sat close to one another, their hands intertwined.

"I can't believe it's really been four years. Feels like it's been longer…"

Nana hummed and snuggled closer to her husband. She didn't really want to think about the nights where she had to lie awake alone, not when she could at least have him with her for now. "It was for Natsumi."

Iemitsu sighed and Nana could hear the smile in his voice as he threw an arm around her waist, pulling her in as close as possible and switched from Japanese into Italian. "She's worth it, she really is. I…She's a sweetheart. You've done such a great job Nana."

After he introduced himself to Natsumi, Iemitsu had taken the child from Nana. He had hugged her tight; Nana had seen the shock on Natsumi's face before her chubby arms awkwardly wrapped around Iemitsu's neck. (Natsumi and Iemitsu had gone into the living room while Nana began to cook something for Iemitsu, who was no doubt hungry after his flight. Once she heard Iemitsu explaining to Natsumi how they got her name. "Your mama's name is Nana and mine is Iemitsu! We took the first letters of your mama's name, and then we rearranged the last letters of mine and we got Natsumi from it!" Nana doubted Natsumi understood what her father was saying, but it didn't hurt. And when she went to give Iemitsu food, she saw her husband lying on the floor with Natsumi lying down on his torso. It made her want to cry.)

Nana buried her face in Iemitsu's shoulder. "I've done what I can…It's hard to do it all on my own."

Iemitsu ran a hand through Nana's chocolate colored hair – it had grown quite long in the past four years, now reaching down to her mid-back. "I know… I wish I could have gotten here sooner. Four years is ridiculous, the Ninth agreed… But you remember about half a year ago?"

Nana's lip curled up into a half sneer, which looked odd on her usually smiling face. How could she forget?

About half a year ago, an informant from the Fernando Familgia had found out about Natsumi and almost got the information out. Keyword being almost. The Vongola had managed to… take care of the informant and a good number of the Fernando, she had last heard.

"We managed to successfully wipe them out but, with a price." Iemitsu's voice grew serious and Nana's sat up straight.

"What happened? Who?"

"...Enrico was killed in a gun fight a month ago."

Nana face paled considerably. She remembered seeing her distant cousin at parties that had been held where she had been invited. He was a year older than her, but she had been much closer to him than she had been to Massimo or Federico or the youngest, Xanxus.

Iemitsu rubbed at her back in circles as she rubbed at her eyes.

"How is the Ninth? And everyone?"

"The Ninth… He's keeping himself together. Massimo and Federico are worried, and who knows what Xanxus' is thinking, he's 14 now, by the way. Enrico's passing is what convinced the Ninth to finally let me come. I guess he finally realized that keeping me from my family for four years… Damn it… I've missed so much… too much. I'm sorry."

Taking a few deep breaths; Nana leaned her head against his and rubbed his short hair. "I know… I forgive you. It wasn't your fault."

Iemitsu sighed silently, if only she knew.

**3.  
**_**N**_ana opened the front door with caution, her hair much shorter than nine years ago, now hovering just over her shoulders. Her shoulders relaxed only slightly when she saw Iemitsu standing before her, with a grim look on his face. Ushering him in, Nana said "Natsu-chan is still at school" under her breath.

"Good." Iemitsu said, walking into the front room, taking his jacket off he sat down on the couch. Scars – new and not exactly new – covered his face that looked much older than it really was. Having not seen her husband like this in years (not since Massimo died 4 years ago), she felt something akin to dread and worry set into her stomach. "What happened?"

"The Bruno Familgia got Federico."

"No!" Nana bellowed, a look of terror coming onto her face.

"Yes." His face seemed too grow even more grim and lined as he continued to speak. "All we found were Federico's bones – they were his, too, we made sure."

Nana's face was frozen in shock, her eyes wide and her mouth opened slightly. "D-does that mean…"

Iemitsu shut his eyes, resting his face in his hands, he said "Yes."

"But we left Italy so this wouldn't happen! She can't become the Decimo!"

"I couldn't do anything, Nana. The 9th is out of options – _Xanxus _was even considered for a brief second, even after Cradle! He… the Vongola doesn't have any other choice, Nana."

"Natsumi knows nothing about the mafia though, Iemitsu! She was raised away from anything even related from the mafia!"

"I know, Nana, I didn't want this either. But, she had time. Four years at the least, six at the most. "

Nana took a few deep breaths – she felt like she was going to have a panic attack. This was one of the reasons they had left Italy, but leaving did _nothing_. "Four years isn't enough."

Iemitsu lifted his head from his hands. "That's why the 9th is sending the best of the best to teach her."

"You don't mean..?"

"I do." Iemitsu's eyes seemed to seem to sparkle with something akin to hope. "He's sending Reborn."

* * *

**A/N:** Hello, again! Here is the first official chapter! I, um, am sort of nervous about this chapter. I think it's a little awkward. Hm… Let me know what you think, please?

Now, I was very nervous about the last chapter, as well. (I'm always nervous…) I want to thank you all for reading this and you apparently like it! I'd like to inform you, despite the awkwardness of this chapter, I am holding back for now. I've been planning this story for a few months now and I have a lot planned for this story! So, I'm looking forward to that!

Chapter 2 will not be up as quick as this chapter was, because I've got a lot of homework to finish up. I'm going into summer break for a month in June, so I'll(hopefully) have more time to work on chapter 2, which will be longer than this one! This chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be, but I guess it just felt...right to end it here?

I dunno, I'll probably re-write later.

This is un-betaed, by the way. If anyone is interested in Beta-ing, hit me up in a private message or on my tumblr: grandmanoiseverything(dot)tumblr(dot)com! Also, I'll be putting up the progress of upcoming chapters on my main page!

Reviews are very much appreciated!


	3. Chapter 2

**Bonds.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**: That Guy from Italy.

* * *

Natsumi let a sigh escape from her lips as she walked home alone.

She didn't really want to go home at the moment, but both Kyoko-chan and Hana-chan were busy today with the activities that they had to partake in every Thursday. For once she almost wished that she had been forced to do clean up duty.

She didn't want to come home for one reason – her father was back after nearly a year of not being home. It wasn't as if she didn't like her father – she loved him, because he was, you know, her _father _– it was just so awkward to be around him. He was never really home and they just… didn't know each other and it was uncomfortable.

He had been back for about two days and he was apparently here for business, but all he had done while he was home was eat, sleep, get drunk, harass Natsumi and her mother, and sleep some more. If he was on business, he sure wasn't doing it.

She wasn't sure what her father even did. She guessed that it was really dangerous, because her mom always changed the subject whenever Natsumi brought it up and her dad did the same thing.

Sighing, the 14 year old tried to ignore the group of laughing girls who were walking past her, all of them wearing Midori uniforms. One of them was trailing behind a little and wasn't laughing. She wore a high pony tail, looked about her age, and she was smiling a small smile at Natsumi before she walked along with the rest of them.

Natsumi blinked. People usually didn't pay her any mind when she was walking past, so why did this girl even bother to smile at her? Was there something on her face?

She saw a store display and checked as she walked by. Her brown hair seemed to behaving today, not sticking up in the usual tufts, framing her face in waves and reaching to her torso. Her brown eyes were wide and her mouth was curving up into a smile, and there nothing was on her face. So the girl just decided to smile at her. It was probably completely random, but it still made Natsumi really happy for some reason.

She walked home with a skip in her step and the small smile staying on her face.

They both disappeared by the time she opened the front door with an "I'm home!"

Her father appeared in the hallway when she was taking off her shoes. He wore a smile on his face (and was that a suit?), but his eyes looked grim. "Hey Natsumi, how was school?"

Natsumi raised an eyebrow. Her father hadn't called her by her first name in years, always calling her 'princess' instead. "Um…It was fine?"

"Good." He brought a hand up to his hair. "Listen Natsumi… Princess… Your mother and I have something to tell you.

An eyebrow raised in curiosity and feet shuffled nervously.

"Is something…wrong?"

"You could say that. Go take your bag upstairs and change. We'll be waiting for you in the kitchen." He pat her shoulder.

Natsumi's eyebrow furrowed as she walked upstairs, throwing her bag carelessly on her bed. She wondered what was wrong with her parents as she changed into a loose fitting shirt and pants.

When she went down to the kitchen, her dad's hands were folded in front of his mouth, while her mom seemed to notice her right away.

"Natsu-chan," Her mom said, gesturing to a seat across from her. "sit down."

She did.

"Natsumi, you know how we never really talk about my job?" Her father started a few minutes later and she nodded in response. "I haven't been able to tell you anything… until now."

"Your mother has told you that you were born in Italy before, right?"

She nodded again. "Yeah… I was born in Italy when you guys were on vacation and then you came back to Japan when I was three months old." Her father shook his head.

"That's not true Princess. It's true that you were born in Italy and your mom came to Japan, but you were born in Italy because we lived in Italy. Both my job and your mom's old job were – are - both in Italy. I didn't want to tell you anything about this until you were a little older, but I don't really have a choice. Princ- Natsumi, I work for the mafia."

Natsumi looked at her father as if he were crazy. She was expecting his face to curl up into a grin and yell "just kidding!" so loud that it could be heard from across town, but the serious expressions did not leave her parents faces. How could he say something so ridiculous so bluntly?

"I work for a Mafia family called the Vongola; one of the oldest, most famous families. I have an important job – I work for the family, but from on the outside, gathering Intel and information and I give it to the Don – the Boss, he's called the Ninth. Your mother worked for the same organization before she had you."

"W…why are you telling me this?" Natsumi said, her hands curling into the fabric of her pants. She couldn't believe this – her goofy dad and happy-go-lucky mom working for the Mafia? The Mafia didn't even exist! It was just in movies! (Not that she ever got to see those movies; she only got the loud retellings from Ryohei, Kyoko's older brother.)

"Because, Princess," his voice lowered and grew softer. "The Ninth is growing old. He had sons, his heirs, but they all passed away, all without issue." He paused and Natsumi wondered what any of this had to do with her. "And what a lot of people don't know, is that the man who created the Vongola, Giotto, retired in Japan and started a family of his own, after passing the title of Don onto his cousin, Riccardo.

"The Vongola Primo – Giotto – he changed his name to Ieyasu Sawada when he moved to Japan. Both you and I are directly descended from Ieyasu, who is your great-great-great grandfather - your mother is also distantly related to the Vongola, but that's her story to tell."

Natsumi's head was spinning by the end of that. "Wha… What are you saying?"

Her father's hands went up to his hair. "You're the only heir that the Ninth has left – I was disqualified from the title when I joined the CEDEF. I thought maybe you could join like your mother and I, but…"

She wondered what a CEDEF was and looked at her mother, who was also looking grim – an expression Natsumi had never seen on her mother.

"I- I can't be a mafia boss! I'm 14! And the mafia doesn't exist!" she said, standing up out of her chair, her hands extended on the table.

"That kind of thought could keep you safe or get you shot. The Mafia is very real." Said a new voice. She turned her head and saw a baby with dark eyes. A baby wearing a suit and a fedora that had a chameleon on it.

"Reborn!" Her dad said, standing up. "You weren't supposed to come until later!"

"Ciaosuu, Iemitsu, Nana." The baby – Reborn, apparently – tipped his fedora towards both of her parents. "I came three hours early for an assessment." Reborn turned to Natsumi and started looking her up and down. He didn't tip his hat. "So this is her. Ciaosuu."

She looked to her dad. "That's a baby."

Her dad coughed. "Natsumi, this is Reborn. He's the Ninth's top hitman."

"He's a baby!"

Reborn got a glint in one of his black eyes. "They never expect it."

She didn't even want to know who they were and what they didn't expect. "Why is he here and why is he talking?"

"Reborn is here to tutor you to become Vongola Decimo." Her mother said, speaking for the first time since she came into the kitchen. "He's trained the best of the best."

"I just finished with Dino."

"Oh? How is he?"

"As pathetic as ever."

Her mother hummed in response.

Natsumi vaguely wondered who this Dino person was and why he knew her mother, but the thought left her as fast as it came. "I don't want to be a mafia boss! I don't want to be Vongola whatever!"

Her mom stood up. "Natsu-chan, we don't want you to become the Decimo either – we left Italy so you would be safe from that title. But the Vongola has to continue on, sweetie."

Natsumi looked into her mother's eyes and she knew that she wasn't going to get out of this – she didn't know how she knew, but she knew. And she didn't want to know that.

"I... Nezu-sensei assigned us a lot of Science homework today… I should get started on that…"

She ran past her parents and Reborn and she went up the stairs. She faintly heard her mother say "Just let her be alone."

Once she got into her room and locked the door behind her, she threw herself on her bed, kicking her bag off to the side. She buried her head into her pillow and she began to cry.

How was she supposed to become a mafia boss? It was almost laughable! She was No-Good-Natsumi, Klutzy Natsumi, Dame-Natsumi, not Vongola whatever! ("_Decimo._" A part of her mind called back to her.)

She wanted to scream. Until she couldn't scream anymore. Until her throat was raw and sore.

But she couldn't, so she didn't.

She didn't come out of her room for the rest of the night.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello! Here is the new chapter! This came out a lot faster than I thought it would! This is probably the fastest I've updated a fanfic since 2009!

But anyway, this chapter was longer, but I had to cut some of it off, because it just didn't feel right too me. I don't really like this chapter much... I don't think I doing this idea any justice... I only skimmed it, to be honest. If you see any mistakes, please correct me and I'll fix them. I have a lot of math homework to work on right now...But I thought it'd be okay to upload this here.

I hope it's not as horrible as I think it is.. I hope I'm doing Natsumi/Tsuna justice here. Oh god, I'm getting nervous again. (I wrote 'She' way too many times.)

Chapter 3 will be out in a week or so.


	4. Chapter 3

**Bonds.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: **Tequila.

* * *

Nana grimaced lightly as the alcohol left a burning trail down her throat.

It had been a while, she noted as she poured herself another shot-glass full of tequila.

She had never really cared for tequila. Both the taste and the burn had always been less than pleasant to her, so she tended to avoid it during the rare times she actually drank, but sometimes there was room for exceptions. And tonight, sitting across the table from Iemitsu who nursed his own glass, was one of those exceptions.

The burn was satisfying this time around.

"She's not going to forgive us."

Nana looked up at Iemitsu who was looking down at the kitchen table that they sat at. He looked much older than he was. (She'd bet that she looked the same.)

A defeated sigh left her lips as she slumped back in her seat, the wooden chair digging into the back of her head as her eyes focused on the ceiling above her.

"I know." she said, before drinking the tequila shot.

She did. She really, really did. She understood that there was absolutely no way for Natsumi to get out of this like both she and Iemitsu had managed to, unless that way was death. Nana shuddered at the thought.

She was going to be trained by Reborn, she would live, and then she would be made the Decimo and lead the Vongola. And they were going to do so much to her baby – oh god Natsumi was still a child, her child.

Maybe… Maybe this was how Nana's own parents felt.

* * *

"Are you okay, Natsu-chan?"

Natsumi looked up, her eyes feeling heavy, at the question.

Kyoko Sasagawa had asked the question, tucking a piece of her short caramel colored hair behind one of her ears, looking at Natsumi with worry painted on her face.

Hana Kurokawa's chopsticks stopped where they were and bright, intelligent eyes focused on Natsumi's face, but she didn't say anything.

Natsumi swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked, her eyes still feeling puffy from the day before. She nodded her head frantically, her fluffy hair hitting her in the face. "U-um, ye-yes I'm fine!" she stuttered. Her friends didn't need to know about the so called mafia or the baby that had followed her to school, saying that he was both her bodyguard and tutor.

"You're lying." Hana said, bringing her food to her mouth.

"Wh-what? No I'm not!"

"Natsu-chan," Kyoko said in a soft voice, reaching over to place a hand on the other girl's knee. "you stutter more when you lie."

"Oh…" she felt her cheeks flush lightly with red.

"What's wrong, Natsumi? You can tell us, you know?" Hana continued, trying to make eye contact with Natsumi.

Said girl looked down at her lap. "Erm, well, there is just some trouble at home right now."

That wasn't exactly a lie. Her father had refused to look her in the eye this morning, not that she had been trying to directly talk to her parents.

"Oh no, is there anything we can do?"

Natsumi shook her head.

"You're father's back, isn't he?"

Natsumi nodded her head once. Both Hana and Kyoko were aware that Natsumi didn't have the best relationship with her father, even if said girl didn't often talk about her issues with her father.

Kyoko and Hana exchanged a glance when a sigh escaped from Natsumi and then the subject was changed momentarily.

* * *

Reborn hadn't returned until Natsumi was halfway home.

"Don't you have something better to do?" She said with a sigh. She was tired and she really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"No." he said, jumping off of his perch and onto Natsumi's shoulder, like he had done earlier in the morning.

"What do you want?"

"Turn left at this intersection."

She turned her head so she could look at the baby who was riding on her shoulder. "What?"

An eyebrow was raised. "Left."

"I have to go home!" Not that she particularly wanted to, of course.

"No you don't, go left." He tugged at her hair roughly.

"OW!"

* * *

"Why did you bring me to Namimori shrine?" Natsumi said once Reborn had hopped off of her shoulder. The walk had been a short and quiet one, except for the occasional direction from Reborn.

"This is one of the areas where we will be training."

"Training? You are not training me!"

"So you want to die." Reborn said, hopping up the stairs. His face was blank. "That's what will happen if you don't get any training."

"This mafia thing, again? I told you this morning, I don't want anything to do with it! I don't care if the Van- Vong- whatever needs to continue, have them choose someone else, not me!"

Reborn sat down, looking directly at Natsumi who had continued to stand, her fists clenched. She was shaking, as if saying all of that had taken a lot out of her.

"You don't have much choice in the matter. It's already been decided. I'm here to make sure you can live through this, because I doubt you want me to leave so you can get assassinated, because the moment that your position is found out, you're gone."

"Assassinated?!"

"The Vongola is one of the strongest families in the mafia and it tends to be a magnet for enemies. Once they find out about you, they'll come after you."

Natsumi swallowed, the familiar feeling of fear coursing through her veins. _Oh god. _She was silent for a good two minutes.

"I-I still don't believe you… But how would you train me? You're a baby!" she asked, overwhelmed.

"Not a normal one. I'm the strongest hitman in the world, you should be flattered."

"Babies can't be hitmen."

"That makes me even more special."

* * *

"You shouldn't have moved from Italy." Reborn said much later that night after Natsumi had gone to sleep.

"We didn't know that all three of the heirs were going to be killed, Reborn." Iemitsu said, running a hand through his short blond hair with a sigh. "How much training does she need?"

"More than Dino needed, but I can do it."

Iemitsu nodded his hands coming up to rub his eyes, while relief inched through his veins. "Thank you, Reborn."

"It'll take a long time."

"If she lives, then do whatever it takes."

Silence settled for a few moments.

"I think she does have a sky flame, but it's blocked and her resolve is basically nonexistent. It's too early to tell."

"What are you going to do?"

Reborn paused before answering, his lips curving up slightly.

"Whatever it takes."

* * *

**A/N:** Hi, its been a while OTL

That sudden hiatus totally wasn't planned and if I was, I totally would've said something. Stuff happened, however, that needed to take the reins. That stuff is still really important, but I'm trying to manage fanfiction back into that schedule, because I do still like this story. (Most of the important stuff is homework, of course.) Also, my fandom's switch frequently… This time it was D Gray Man and Homestuck, both of which I love a lot.

I recently started re-reading KHR, so that could be the reason for this chapter right here! Speaking of which, the last couple chapters have been really amazing, too. If you disregard what's been happening to literally all of my favorite characters, of course.

Anyways, I can't confirm when the next chapter will be out, but hopefully it will be soon! I'm going to take my time because I'd like it to be a pretty good chapter, because training starts/a probable conversation between Nana and Natsumi will begin!

See you then!


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